


what a wonderful caricature of intimacy

by gildedlily



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Inspired by Pygmalion and Galatea (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mad Scientists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 20:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19383874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gildedlily/pseuds/gildedlily
Summary: In which Jaehyun helps solve Sicheng’s problems while ignoring his own.Or, a Pygmalion and Galatea AU where Sicheng’s a mad scientist and Jaehyun’s his assistant, boyfriend, and creation (although Jaehyun’s unaware of the last).





	what a wonderful caricature of intimacy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by “Build God, Then We'll Talk” by Panic! at the Disco (which is also where the title’s from)
> 
> A huge thanks to the mods for running this fest and giving me more time to finish this, y’all are the best
> 
> I took creative liberties with the science, so please don’t expect any of it to be accurate

Sicheng’s darting around the lab, muttering under his breath as he looks for a jar of dragonfly wings. Jaehyun had given up trying to search when he had tipped over a basket of pomegranates and Sicheng had scowled and waved his help away. Now, Jaehyun’s watching Sicheng tear his lab apart from a safe distance away.

“Stupid supplemental ingredients,” Sicheng says, opening a set of drawers, “and stupid townspeople waiting for me to do something spectacular.”

“Have you ever considered not releasing monthly projects?” Jaehyun asks. “Surely the constant brainstorming and experimentation gets tiring.”

Sicheng scoffs. “Who do you take me for, some kind of amateur? I’m a graduate of the Academy. Science runs through my veins.” Jaehyun stifles his laughter. Despite Sicheng’s complaints, he always delivered a marvelous creation at the end of each month, to the delight of the townsfolk. Last month it had been a carnivorous scarecrow that ate birds instead of scaring them away, and the month before that it had been a raven sentry to patrol the streets. Sicheng calls it putting his genius intellect to use. Jaehyun calls it secretly having a soft spot for the town.

“What did you say you were looking for again?”

“Dragonfly wings, Jaehyun, keep up.”

The dry rattle of objects hitting glass has Sicheng swivel his head around, where he sees Jaehyun leaning against a counter and smiling genially, shaking the jar of dragonfly wings in his hand.

“Be careful, they’re delicate.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. “Say the magic words?”

“I’m going to set a giant bat after you if you don’t set down that jar?” Sicheng smiles when Jaehyun frowns and hands over the jar. He laughs and presses a quick kiss to Jaehyun’s lips. “Turn that frown upside down, sweetheart. You know the roses get peckish whenever you’re sad.” Jaehyun manages a small smile at the mention of the roses; Sicheng had bred huge flowers with mouths to work as built-in pest control a few months back, but they’d ended up serving as snappy decorations instead. (If there was one trend in Sicheng’s general madness, it was attaching mouths to objects that were previously mouthless). He leans in for another kiss, but Sicheng’s already gone to the other side of the lab. The goggles over his face remind Jaehyun of the protruding eyes of the fat goldfish that lazily drifted around in a tank at his house—he blinks to clear the thought. He’s never owned goldfish.

Instead, Jaehyun warily eyes one of the roses that seems to have inched closer, and slips out of the lab.

 

\--

 

A harsh squawking sound interrupts the otherwise quiet house. Jaehyun pauses, the knitting needles in his hands stilling. A second squawk rings through the house. It sounds like it’s coming from the living room. Sighing, Jaehyun sets down his knitting needles and stands up, walking through a hallway filled with paintings of animals dressed in Renaissance finery so he can reach the living room. He enters the living room, where a large swan is standing on the coffee table. When the swan notices his arrival, its beady eyes narrow and it lets out another squawk. There’s a burgundy tag attached to one of its wings that reads  _ Yves 2.0 _ upon closer inspection.

“Sorry, Yves 2.0,” he says to the swan, carefully untying the paper attached to its leg and opening the letter. The note is scrawled on a piece of stationary with little apple decorations.

It simply reads:

 

HELLO SICHENG,

THE ANNUAL REUNION WILL BE HELD AT MY HOUSE THIS YEAR.

BE THERE.

SOOYOUNG

 

Cut and dry and to the point, which is characteristic of Sooyoung, who always had little time to waste and would leave in the middle of conversations to check on her experiment—or so Sicheng complains about when he talks about the Academy, as if he doesn’t do the same.  _ Mad scientists _ , Jaehyun thinks, _ the nicest group of self-destructive hypocrites you’ll ever meet _ .

He turns the note over and neatly replies, his handwriting so precise that it looks typed.

 

_ Hello Sooyoung, _

_ Will rely the message to Sicheng. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Jaehyun _

 

Jaehyun then rolls the note up and reties it to Yves 2.0’s leg, the swan watching him the entire time. When he releases his hand, Yves 2.0 keeps staring at him, refusing to fly away.

“What do you want from me?” Jaehyun asks. Its dead eyes bore into him. “Are you hungry?” At this, Yves 2.0 lets out a squawk and flaps its wings. “Alright.”

Leaving Yves 2.0 behind in the living room, Jaehyun goes to the kitchen to search for something edible, not particularly fond of having to explain to Sooyoung that her bird couldn’t complete the journey because it had eaten something toxic. He stops at a bag of grapes—

 

_ “Could your aim be any worse?” Jaehyun laughs as yet another grape flies over the pond and lands on the other side of the bank, nowhere near the geese in the water. _

_ “Shut up,” Yugyeom says, scowling as he takes another sliced grape from the bag to throw. They watch as it arcs in the air and hits one of the geese, bouncing off the side of its face. Jaehyun can’t stop himself from laughing when the goose chases after Yugyeom, ignoring Yugyeom’s curses in favor of clutching the railing and trying not to bow over. Despite all the monsters that they create in the laboratory, wild animals are still the most deadly. _

 

—before moving on and finding a head of lettuce that looks palatable.  _ Good enough _ , he thinks and walks back to the living room, praying that Yves 2.0 hasn’t wreaked any havoc.

Yves 2.0 is still standing on the coffee table. It eyes the lettuce in Jaehyun’s hand before it squawks, deeming the meal acceptable. He tears off a few leaves of lettuce and feeds them to Yves 2.0, the bird pecking at his fingers for more when it finishes eating. When Yves 2.0 is finally satisfied, all that’s left of the lettuce is a few stray leaves. Yves 2.0 squawks once more before it flaps its wings and departs through the open window which it had arrived from.

Jaehyun pauses, the sad remnants of lettuce in his hands, recalling a dream of sunny days and vicious geese, before setting the lettuce down and closing the window.

 

\--

 

“Jaehyun,” Sicheng says, head poking outside of the lab, goggles resting over his tousled hair and soot marks on his cheeks. “I need you to go to the market and buy five stalks of rhubarb.”

“Sure,” Jaehyun says, used to Sicheng’s strange requests. “Anything else?”

Sicheng’s gaze drifts off, pondering the question. Tendrils of smoke start escaping from the lab. “If you see a watermelon, buy one.” His gaze sharpens when he notices the yarn and knitting needles in Jaehyun’s hands. “That’s a lovely sweater, darling.”

Jaehyun beams, his eyes crinkling and dimples showing. “I would say the same about your experiment, but I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be smoking.” Sicheng blinks, as if he’s just seeing the smoke around him.

“Fuck,” he says eloquently, then rushes back into the lab.

 

\--

 

Jaehyun likes the market. He likes the chatter of the crowds, the smell of fresh produce, and the conversations he has with vendors, who always inquire about how he and the mad scientist are doing. The town does quite adore Sicheng and his creations. Jaehyun selects the stalks of rhubarb easily enough, admiring their bright red color and placing them in his wicker basket after purchasing them. He then finds himself meandering through the market, stopping every couple of stalls to look at the produce and adjust his sun hat so it doesn’t blow away in the balmy breeze. Eventually, he reaches the watermelon stall, the wooden tables bowing under the weight of the watermelons.

“How’s the scientist been?” the old woman selling watermelons asks, and Jaehyun smiles at the mention of Sicheng.

“He’s fine! It’s a little hectic right now, but between you and me, his latest creation might be unveiled pretty soon.”

She nods then narrows her gaze at him. “And what about you, boy? How are you doing?”

Jaehyun thinks about how realistic his dreams have been lately, his past blurring together into a smooth mess like the one time Sicheng had grafted bird wings onto a snake—where do the dreams end and the memories begin?—but he doesn’t voice his worries, instead saying, “Sicheng ordered too much wool, so now I’m knitting a sweater.”

“How wonderful! You’ll have to wear it around town when you’ve finished,” the old woman says. Jaehyun nods, idly bringing his hand up to knock on a watermelon, when the old woman clicks her tongue and swats his hand away from the watermelons. “Stop with that tapping nonsense, you know I always give you the freshest produce.” He smiles sheepishly as she chooses a watermelon. “Make sure to tell your scientist to get some rest,” she says when she hands the watermelon over and he pays. “You’ve been a good influence on him; he doesn’t look as sad when he visits town nowadays.”

“Sad?”

“Oh yes, when he first moved here, he acted like he had a rain cloud hanging over his head.” She leans in, eyes twinkling. “No doubt he’s capable of making such a thing, too.” The old woman smiles. “But ever since you’ve arrived, he’s been doing a lot better.” Jaehyun returns her smile, his mind racing. When had he arrived? It feels like he’s lived here all his life, but apparently there was a time when Sicheng lived alone.

The walk from the market back to the house, located on a hill at the edge of town, goes by quickly, and soon Jaehyun is strolling across the front walkway, careful not to step too close to the rose bushes, lest they start biting at the produce, or worse, his outfit. He grins and knocks on the door, hoping that Sicheng will open the door before Jaehyun has to fish around for his keys. Luckily, the door swings open, Sicheng stepping back so Jaehyun can enter.

“I got what you asked for,” Jaehyun says, brandishing one stalk of rhubarb. Sicheng looks down at Jaehyun’s hand, confusion marring his features. “You said ‘if you see a watermelon, buy one.’” Instead of Sicheng rolling his eyes around at the joke or giving a sarcastic reply, something akin to fear flits across his face, his eyebrows furrowed like when he makes mental calculations. Jaehyun hesitates, Sicheng’s reaction unexpected, and retrieves the basket of produce he had placed on the ground.

Sicheng blinks, relaxing the tension in his shoulders. “The pinnacle of humor,” he says dryly.

Jaehyun pouts. “C’mon, it was funny.”

“It was hilarious.” Sicheng turns around, and Jaehyun follows, closing the door behind him. Jaehyun makes his way to the kitchen to unpack the produce before looking up and realizing that there’s someone sitting in the dining room, gaze pensive and hands wrapped around a teacup. She looks achingly familiar, her name on the tip of his tongue—

 

_ Minnie sighs. “Jaehyun, tell me again how sentient peaches are any better than blue  _ _ raspberries.” They’re partners in botany class for a group project to construct a creation based on fruit. _

_ “Because Professor Do’s looking for ingenuity, and all the boring kids pick fruit hybrids and get low grades,” Jaehyun says. _

_ She scoffs. “Sicheng calls you a peach once, and now you’re obsessed.” _

_ “I am not,” Jaehyun protests, resolutely ignoring how his face flushes at the mention of Sicheng, his boyfriend of two weeks. (To be fair, they could’ve been dating earlier, but Sicheng had taken ages to perfect the singing roses he used to confess to Jaehyun). _

_ “Sure. Whatever, let’s make some sentient peaches for lover boy,” Minnie says. _

_ Later, she begrudgingly admits that his idea was good when they receive full marks on their project. _

 

—but ultimately he can’t remember. She glances up from her cup, her eyebrows raising in surprise when she notices him, then she immediately turns to Sicheng to hiss, “You didn’t tell me that you—”

“Minnie, this is Jaehyun,” Sicheng says, cutting her off. “Jaehyun, this is Minnie.” He gives her a warning look.

“Minnie!” Jaehyun says brightly. “Nice to meet you. Have we met before?”

Minnie warily looks at Sicheng before turning back to Jaehyun. “I don’t think we have,” she says. She looks down at the watch around her wrist. “I would love to stay, but I need to meet Lisa for lunch. Nice meeting you, Jaehyun.” She studies Jaehyun’s face, sorrow in her eyes, before she breaks eye contact and gets up from her seat.

“I’ll walk you out,” Sicheng says, and then the two of them are gone.

Jaehyun busies himself with putting the produce away. Snippets of Minnie’s conversation with Sicheng carry back to the kitchen.

“I know you’re still grieving, but you can’t  _ do  _ this, Sicheng,” Minnie says, her voice a mixture of frustration and pity.

Sicheng’s voice is cold. “I’ll do what I want.”

“The Academy taught us how to be scientists, not how to recreate past boyfriends.”

“It seems to me,” Sicheng says curtly, “that I just applied the Academy’s teachings and followed where the science led me. Maybe your experiments would be even a fraction as successful as mine if you did the same.”

“Stop trying to avoid the issue. Does he know?”

The front door creaking open drowns out the reply.

“Well, thanks for having me.” Minnie sighs. “I’ll see you at the reunion then.”

“Can’t wait,” Sicheng says, emotionless.

The door shuts, leaving Jaehyun with more questions than answers.

 

\--

 

Rays of morning sun filter through the curtains, causing Sicheng to groan and cling tighter to Jaehyun.

“Make the sun go away,” Sicheng mumbles, voice heavy with sleep. Normally, they’re both up when the sun rises, but yesterday, Sicheng had spent his entire day cooped up in the lab constructing moth spider hybrids, and had delegated Jaehyun to dissect the spiders. The tired grin Sicheng had given him at the end of the day was almost worth the spider guts on his hands. (The way Jaehyun had waggled his eyebrows and said, “Why don’t you take a break and experiment on me?” and Sicheng gleefully obliging had more than made up for the rest).

Jaehyun can’t help but ask, “You’re the mad scientist. Shouldn’t you have a device to dim the sun?” Sicheng’s face is resting against Jaehyun’s chest, and Jaehyun can feel Sicheng scrunch his nose in distaste.

“Not funny,” Sicheng says. “You know I wouldn’t make something so tacky.”

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun coos, pressing a kiss to Sicheng’s forehead.

“Doesn’t matter,” Sicheng mumbles against Jaehyun’s collarbone, his words muffled against Jaehyun’s skin, “I demand cookies as payment. My evil genius endeavors don’t fuel themselves, you know.” He then closes his eyes, still clinging to Jaehyun.

Jaehyun waits for Sicheng to fall asleep again before he gently pries Sicheng’s arms off of him and gets out of bed, preparing to spend his day baking in the kitchen.

While he’s measuring the ingredients out for chocolate chip cookies, Jaehyun absentmindedly hums a tune from some long forgotten memory; the original had involved a chorus of voices that his sad melody can’t do justice to.

 

_ “I can’t believe they’re making us do this,” the boy next to Jaehyun grumbles when the students all stand up to sing the Academy’s anthem. “Can we stop with the ‘mad’ and start with the ‘scientist’ part in ‘mad scientist’?” _

_ Jaehyun bursts out laughing, then quickly covers his mouth to muffle the sound, but the noise of the other students drowns him out. The boy next to him looks pleased. _

_ “I’m Sicheng,” the boy says, holding out his hand for Jaehyun to shake, “and I’m going to be the best mad scientist ever.” _

_ “Jaehyun,” he says, introducing himself and accepting Sicheng’s handshake, “and we’ll see about that.” _

 

As he’s mixing the batter, the movements feel routine, like he’s done this before, mixing chemicals instead of ingredients, wearing a lab coat instead of an apron, bumping into Sicheng in the laboratory and running experiments together. Has baking always felt this familiar?

He shapes the dough into balls, as natural a motion as drawing out sketches for a new creation.

_ Maybe I was a mad scientist in a past life _ , Jaehyun thinks. Maybe he had once thought of his own spectacular creations, spent his days in the lab attaching squid tentacles to tarantulas and fusing bat wings with mice.

The same infernal tune is stuck in his head while he waits for the cookies to bake.

 

\--

 

“Are you sure that we have to go?” Jaehyun asks. They’re standing outside of Sooyoung’s residence, a sprawling marble mansion with white peacocks strutting on the lawn. Sicheng steps forward to brush a piece of lint off of Jaehyun’s suit, his hand a calming presence.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Sicheng says with a wry smile, “unless you want my classmates to send a horde of atrocious creatures after us because we skipped the reunion.” He steps back, Jaehyun instantly missing his warmth, but then he holds Jaehyun’s hand. “The sooner we get introductions over with, the sooner we can get drunk off of champagne.”

Jaehyun smiles. “How can I possibly argue with that logic?”

They enter through the large entrance doors, stepping into the foyer, which is bustling with activity. Sicheng is immediately whisked away by someone sporting a mullet, leaving Jaehyun alone to take in the splendor. Diamond chandeliers hang from the ceiling, bathing the room in a soft glow, and fresh flowers line the staircase. Storks wander around the foyer, trays of appetizers and drinks balanced on their heads. The room is filled with the brightest mad scientists, all paragons of the Academy’s teaching excellence who sport lists of accolades miles long… and Jaehyun. He feels like an impostor in this room; all he has are memories that don’t quite fit, like a coat two sizes too large. (And if the strange looks people have been giving him are any indication, they also realize that he is out of place). Jaehyun recognizes most of the room’s occupants, but from where, he can’t quite say. The only comfort he has was that he had a dreamless sleep yesterday.

The glint of a diamond catches his eye, and Jaehyun turns his attention to an older man talking to a group, his hands gesticulating wildly and excitement in his eyes.

Jaehyun remembers those hand gestures, remembers that excitement, remembers sitting in a crowded auditorium, students pressed on either side of him, as he watched that man—Professor Junmyeon Kim, his memory recalls—give a welcome speech.

“And remember,” he had said, “you’re all here because you want to be mad scientists, and you’re mad about science!” Jaehyun and his fellow students had groaned at that line, but the corny joke wasn’t enough to dampen the frenetic energy and thrumming excitement in the auditorium. This was the beginning of mad scientist school, a passion turned into a career, the first step of their futures.

“What the hell is happening,” Jaehyun whispers to himself, slipping out of the foyer and finding a secluded hallway.

That’s where Sicheng finds him later, when the sky outside has darkened. “Jaehyun, there you are!” he says, then, when Jaehyun doesn’t respond, he says again, hesitantly, “Jaehyun?”

“Sicheng, who am I?” he finds himself asking. The pieces of his memory are distorted, and he’s unable to stitch together the fragments.

Something in his voice makes Sicheng pause and look at him for a long, silent moment. “The love of my life,” Sicheng says quietly, “my best friend, my lab partner, my classmate.” He manages a small smile, his eyes dull. “What was I supposed to do when you died, Jaehyun? I carved you out of ivory and used a cicada’s buzz to mimic your heartbeat.”

And Jaehyun’s memories slot into place.

His past transitions seamlessly into first waking up in the laboratory, Sicheng nervously peering over him before he had noticed Jaehyun was conscious.

“Darling,” Jaehyun says, his lips curling into a grin because he no longer has to try reconciling two narratives in his mind, “I can’t believe you remade me.” He takes Sicheng’s hand and laughs, carefree, cicada heart buzzing.


End file.
